G7 defence ministers pledged “unwavering support” for Ukraine at the grouping’s first ever ministerial meeting dedicated to defence. “We underscore our intent to continue to provide assistance to Ukraine, including military assistance in the short and long term,” read the G7 defence ministers’ final statement after the meeting in Naples. The statement also backed Kyiv’s “irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including Nato membership”. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pitched his “victory plan” to the EU and Nato but failed to get the immediate membership invitation he was calling for. Ukraine’s admission to Nato would make political and diplomatic resolution of the conflict impossible and lead to its escalation, Russia’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.
France’s foreign minister pledged support for Zelenskyy’s “victory plan” for ending the war with Russia, telling reporters in Kyiv on Saturday that he would work with Ukrainian officials to secure other nations’ backing for the proposal. Kyiv’s plan hopes to compel Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine through negotiations. The proposal is being considered by Ukraine’s western partners, whose help is vital for Kyiv to resist its bigger neighbour. A key element would be a formal invitation into Nato, which western backers have been reluctant to consider until after the war. “A Russian victory would be a consecration for the law of the strongest and would push the international order toward chaos,” the French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said.
Yet Zelenskyy’s plan to end Ukraine’s nearly three-year war with Russia has received mixed reactions from western allies so far, the Associated Press reports. The “victory plan” that Zelenskyy outlined at home and abroad includes a formal invitation for Ukraine to join Nato and permission to use western long-range missiles to strike military targets in Russia – two steps Kyiv’s allies have been reluctant to support before. US backing is crucial if Zelenskyy is to get support from other allies for proposals he believes are necessary to strengthen Ukraine’s position on the battlefield and ahead of any peace negotiations. But analysts say the Biden administration is unlikely to make a decision before the US presidential election on 5 November, as it may not appeal to voters.
Ukraine’s air-defence units were in operation trying to repel a new Russian air attack on Kyiv, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital said late on Saturday. “Stay in shelters!” the mayor, Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine launched a series of drones targeting Moscow and western Russia, officials said early on Sunday, adding that there were no injuries or significant damage reported. Russia’s air-defence units destroyed at least one drone flying towards Moscow, the mayor of the Russian capital Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram. Meanwhile, drone debris sparked several short-lived fires in the Lipetsk region in southwestern Russia, the region’s governor said. There were no injuries reported, he added. Governors of the Bryansk and Oryol region, also in western parts of Russia, reported that air defence units destroyed several drones there.
A video purporting to show dozens of North Korean recruits lining up to collect Russian military fatigues has been released by Ukrainian officials, who say it shows the introduction of troops sent by Pyongyang into the conflict. The video, published by Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security, allegedly shows North Korean soldiers standing in line to pick up bags, clothes and other apparel from Russian servicemen. The centre said the footage was shot by a Russian soldier in recent days but did not say how the footage was obtained. The location is unknown.
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said he could not confirm reports that North Korea has sent troops to Russia ahead of what could be a deployment to the war in Ukraine, but added such a move would be concerning, if true. Ukraine foreign minister Andriy Sybiga warned Saturday that the involvement of North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia carried a “huge threat of further escalation” with the war at risk of “going beyond the current borders and boundaries”. And at the G7 meeting in Naples, German defence minister Boris Pistorius also said he was worried by the North Korean contribution to the Russian war effort. “(It) makes it clear that this conflict is spreading to other regions of the world in terms of its reach,” he said.
Britain’s foreign secretary raised concerns about China’s support of Russia in its war against Ukraine on Friday, urging his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to prevent Chinese firms from supplying to Russia’s military in a meeting in Beijing. David Lammy made the comments as he made his first visit by a Cabinet minister to China since the Labor government took control in July. Lammy “reaffirmed that concerns over China’s supply of equipment to Russia’s military industrial complex risks damaging China’s relationships with Europe whilst helping to sustain Russia’s war,” the Foreign Office said in a statement. China’s readout of the meeting did not provide details or any response on the subject.
